Democrats have done well in recent elections when they win young voters by a margin of at least 20 points.On Tuesday, they carried Gen Z — those under 30 — by nearly 50 points, according to exit polling.It's a stunning shift from 2024, when the party lost critical ground with young people.
Long seen as a part of the Democratic base, voters under 30 shifted right towards Donald Trump, motivated by his pledge to better their economic prospects.But this week, the youngest generation of voters issued a strong rebuke of Republicans, taking another chance on Democrats and their change-focused message at a moment when many of them feel as though the American Dream is out of reach.Americans ages 18-29 have a history of turning out at lower rates than older voters, and this year was no exception.Gen Z made up 11% of the total vote on Tuesday.However, where young Americans may have made the greatest difference, is on the margins in House and Senate races where Democrats flipped seats.The Texas Senate race is a key example.
Democrat James Talarico won the state by 12 percentage points, however, when looking at just Gen Z, he won it by 60 points.Loading...When assessing gains more broadly, Democrats argue the party's strong slate of candidates helped drum up increased enthusiasm.But another motivating factor remains strong opposition to Trump.Throughout his second term, Gen Z increasingly soured on the president, with some arguing he failed to make good on a number of core campaign promises — from pledging to lower prices and repeatedly vowing "no new wars," to calling for a crackdown on federal corruption and the release of the Epstein files.Loading...Much of that disappointment was reflected in exit polling.
Economic issues were the top concern for a plurality of 18-29 year olds, at 43%, and these voters expressed broad frustrations with Trump's handling of the issue.More than eight in 10 said that Trump's policies have worsened economic conditions, with similar sha...